


Dragon Date

by orphan_account



Category: The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Anyway they’re both stupid, Chen is a little dramatic shit, Chen is lactose intolerant😔, Lloyd cannot hold grudges for his life, Lloyd is going to die because of him, M/M, They like each other! Despite hiding it!, They’re DISASTERS AND I LOVE THEM, chen is bi, gAY LLOYD GAY LLOYD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23309473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Lloyd couldn’t hold a grudge, even if his life depended on it.Maybe that’s why he’s in the position he’s in now, with the guy he met on a blind date sandwiched between him and his dragon mech as they head into danger. It’s not that he doesn’t know who it is- Chen the Cheerleader is well known.Why can’t it be easy to be mad at someone?
Relationships: Chen the Cheerleader/Lloyd Garmadon
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	Dragon Date

**Author's Note:**

> Idiots. Complete fools. I love them.

"What are you doing here?" Lloyd doesn't even pull out the chair- he glares at the person in the opposite one, who is glancing up at him, a shocked look on his face to match Lloyd's glare.

"Lloyd? What are YOU doing here?" Chad- or, Chen as he likes to go by, sputters. He's the head cheerleader of Ninjago City High, the person who wrote a song mocking Lloyd, and the only guy that Lloyd can't hate, even if he wanted to. And he answered Lloyd's question with his own question, so, neither of them are getting anywhere. 

"I'm here for a date, and apparently, your sister wanted to play Cupid. Great. I hate to stand you up, but I am NOT sitting here and going on a date with YOU." He pulls at the longsleeve tee he's wearing, shuffling his converse on the floor as his gaze scans across the restaurant for his flaming friend who thought this was a smart idea. It's 5 in the evening, he's tired, and he was expecting literally ANYONE ELSE.

"The feeling is mutual." Chen crosses his arms, the surprise fading as the irritated look Lloyd knows well shows on his face.

"Cool. I'm sitting here, NOT because of this “date” and I'm getting some cheesecake, and then we can pin the bill on your sister. I don't want to talk to you, and you don't want to talk to me. Let me just get my cheesecake and I'll leave you alone." He pulls the chair out, sitting down and starting to drum his fingers on the table. Chen snorts, pulling out his phone.

"Lucky. I can't touch cheesecake."

Curious, Lloyd ignores the few people starting to point outside the window. He's the green ninja, after all, and is a common celebrity in the city. So, despite his insistence of not going to talk to him, he can’t help it. He can’t hold a grudge for his life.

“Why not?"

"Lactose intolerant." Chen makes a peace sign, laying his phone on the table and focusing on Lloyd. "Can't touch it or I'll end up on the floor in pain for a few hours."

"Gosh. I feel bad for you, now." Lloyd frowns, as the waitress who is SUPPOSED to be attending to them fangirls off in a corner. Chen shrugs, taking a sip of the drink he ordered before Lloyd arrived.

"What about you? Any allergies? Any Life-threatening things going on in there?"

"I'm allergic to bees. I never really left the house as a kid, so I didn't find out until I got stung when I went to live with my uncle for a year. He had a bunch of flowers on his boat, and a bee got me one time. Ended up in the hospital for a few days, but it's not a big deal. According to the doctors, it's not as life threatening now."

"Wait wait wait- was that in 7th grade? Because I remember you vanishing for like, a week. That's also the year you always smelled like tea when you came to class." Chen asks, pushing his drink away. Lloyd blinks, and to his horror, feels his cheeks start to flush.

"Uh. Yeah, that was the year. I didn't think people noticed that. God, now I'm embarrassed." He drops his head to the table, internally groaning.

"No! It's not like it was a bad thing, anyway. It was nice to get paired with you for a project or have to sit behind you in class, you didn't smell like some of the complete idiots who didn't discover that deodorant existed until highschool. It was nice, actually." Chen tries to reassure him, and in turn, gets a flush on his own face.

"Well, there's nothing I can really do about it now. I'd rather not relive middle school, those are the worst years of my life, hands down."

"Aw. Despite the bullying and shit, you never really let it get you down. That's something I admire about you, Lloyd. I know that once highschool hit I was a jerk, but I'll tell you that I admire you. You managed to ignore what everyone said about you and kept your head up high. Not many people I know could do that."

Lloyd blinks, surprised, and lifts his head from the table. Chen brushes his hair out of his eyes, and coughs.

"Well. Thanks, I guess? I'm sorry, I don't know how to respond to that." He nervously laughs, hand going up to rub the back of his neck.

"It's more of another apology, and just me saying you're strong as heck. Be proud of yourself for that." Chen looks back at the waitress who is now getting chewed out by the manager, and then back at Lloyd. "I'm sorry you're getting stuck here for longer than you want. The service here sucks."

"And Kai said this is one of the best restaurants in the city. This is why I don't trust him." Lloyd sighs, resting his chin on his hand. "And... don't apologize. It's not that bad, being stuck here with you."

Chen's shock shows in his eyes, but he keeps the cocky smile Lloyd's known for years on his face. "Not that bad? I'll take that as my most highly praised compliment. I can tell everyone I know about it. Get it printed on a shirt."

"You're weird, Chen." Lloyd shakes his head, as the waitress finally stops getting scolded and starts to walk towards them.

The loud shattering of glass, however, prevented her from reaching them. The window near the front restaurant had shattered, and among the people starting to scream and stampede towards the entrance, a few rogue shark generals from Lord Garmadon's army storming in, lasers firing.

"Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me." Lloyd groans, standing to his feet and grabbing the chair. Chen stumbles to his feet, eyes wide in shock as the soldiers start to terrorize the people they could reach.

"Get out of here! Go home, I'll handle this. I don't want you getting hurt." He turns to Chen, yelling to be heard over the roar of the terrified people. Couples were trying to get out, others taking out soldiers with tables and fleeing through the shattered windows.

"I'm not leaving you alone! You don't have any of your teammates with you, I am NOT leaving you here. You don't have any weapons, or anything!" Chen struggles to flip the table over, pulling Lloyd down by grabbing his arm.

"Neither do you! I'm TRAINED for this, I can handle this! You can't!"

"I'm athletic enough and that's all that matters!"

Lloyd peeps over the edge of the table a few terrifying minutes later, eyes scanning across the room. The generals are getting bored; there's nothing to really destroy right now, they've done enough damage.

"They're going to move out and cause more chaos." He whispers, ducking back down and starting to think. If he runs outside, he can signal his mech and it'll be here in a few minutes. The only issue here is that He can't leave Chen alone. He's been stuck with him for 20 minutes, there's no way he could leave him here with a guilt-free conscience.

"Lloyd. Lloyd, we can get out." Chen shakes his shoulder, pointing towards the gap between the generals. They're simply tying people up, whoever they can reach.

"Okay. on the count of three, we book it. I don't even know what it's going to be like outside, so... just stick close to me, okay?"

Chen nods, and Lloyd sucks in a deep breath.

"3."

"What?!"

Lloyd doesn't give an explanation; he simply grabs Chen's hand, sprinting towards the door as fast as he can. He's tall, so of course it’s easier to get out, but he keeps tripping over things. Chen lets out a shriek behind him, but instead of looking back, he dodges the laser shots and pulls him out onto the street. 

The two of them run through the streets and the slightly panicked people, and Lloyd finally hits the button on the small metal bracelet he keeps on his wrist. The green light glows, and after dodging a few more generals and screaming people, the two of them can finally lean against the back of the alley wall and suck in frantic, scared breaths.

"I hate that. I really hate that." Chen gasps out, looking at Lloyd. His hair is far from the neat look it was earlier, and there's a cut on his cheek.

He let him get hurt.

"You're bleeding." Lloyd mumbles, trying to inhale and focus on staying calm. His nerves haven't been this bad since the first time he had to fight his father.

Chen wipes his face, hand coming back down to see the scarlet stain on his fingertips. He looks back up at Lloyd, fear sparking.

"Is it bad?"

"No! God, no, it's not that bad at all. It looks like you got grazed by some flying glass, but I think you're gonna be okay. Hold on." He looks around the alley, and down at his shirt. Guess he's going to do what's necessary, even if this was one of his favorites.

The rip of the fabric makes Chen wince, but he's handed the small strip of fabric anyway.

"Put it on your cheek, and make sure you clean it when you get home, okay? Be safe, I don't want you getting hurt. How am I going to explain that to your sister?" He cracks a smile, as Chen simply frowns.

The roar of the dragon mech coming to an earth-shattering landing shakes the two of them from the trance, as Lloyd turns to look at it and back at Chen.

"Be safe."

He turns to the dragon and starts to run, clambering onto the mech and immediately starting to press a few buttons. His comlink in the small compartment is going off like crazy, so he quickly puts it in his ear and is immediately bombarded by the frantic words of his friends.

"Lloyd, are you there? We saw your dragon, are you there? We need help, this is getting bad, fast. These generals aren't just disarming the people, they're purposefully hitting the big buildings and we're going to have a tower collapse if we don't get you over here now!" Jay's voice is scared- far more than Lloyd's heard in a long time.

"I'm coming guys, I'm so sorry I held you up. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry." He ignores the ripped sleeve of his shirt, starting to change the dragon into the flying gear.

"Don't apologize man, you were on a date, we get it." Kai cuts in, and oh, does Lloyd want to smack him.

"WHAT?!" Nya's voice scratches through the link, and Lloyd grits his teeth as he finally starts to lift off the ground.

"I'll tell you later, okay?"

"YOU BETTER."

Lloyd sighs, starting to scan the city. He needs to find the spot of most danger, and attack from there.

"Wow. You have quite a view from up here."

Lloyd screeches, turning around to see Chen sitting behind him, leaning on the back of the seat. He flashes Lloyd a grin, shrugging once.

"Look, Lloyd. I'm not letting you do this alone. There's also no way for me to get home, skylor just messaged me. You're not going to let me wander the streets, are you?"

"You're going to die and it's going to be your fault." Lloyd sighs, brushing some of his hair out of his face. "Hold on tight. Falling to your death is worse than getting shot dead in the sky."

Chen does as he's instructed, for once, and Lloyd starts to fly towards the danger center. He hasn't ever rode his mech without his gi and mask- his hair is going everywhere and he's inhaling way too much dust.

As they soar through the smoke and the battle and the screaming, Chen tightens his grip on Lloyd's waist. He's not enjoying it much, is he? Battles aren't fun and it's his own dumb fault he's stuck here.

The dragon mech roars, and Lloyd starts to slam the buttons. Missiles shoot across the city, more sounds of buildings shaking from their very foundations drowning out the screams. The Fire Mech is nearby, taking down a few of the rogues near the historic courthouse. Nya is spraying water across a fire taking down the main apartment complex, and He can't see jay, cole, or zane. He can hear them, and he knows he's getting yelled at for having someone else on his dragon, but the only thing he's doing right now is trying to focus on the one building that's about to crumble. There's people streaming from the entrance, and Lloyd's stomach drops as he realizes it's a daycare. There's a kid stuck in one of the windows, hands moving in distress as they cry.

He doesn't even think twice. The dragon changes course, thundering towards the dilapidated building as fast as he can make it.

As they close in, the building shudders further, and starts to crumble. Lloyd can't reach her, even if he tries.

But, the cheerleader clinging to him suddenly isn't anymore, and he's reaching out and yanking the kid from the window. The two of them precariously dangle over the side of the mech, as Chen tightens his foot grip on the edge of the mech.

For some reason, the two of them don't fall to their immediate deaths. Lloyd is able to jerk the dragon in a last attempt to save them, and to his relief, it throws the two of them back into place. Chen tightens his grip on the girl, the cut on his cheek bleeding as well as the new one on his hand.

"You're okay, sweetie, you're okay. We've got you." the cheerleader soothes, as the young girl starts to sob and hold onto him for dear life.

"Just think! You get to be with the green ninja for a while, and we'll kick these general's butts and you can go home and tell your mummy about how strong and brave you are!"

Lloyd tries to block out the words of the teen behind him, but there's really no way to do that when Chen is right behind him with a scared kid.

Enough about that. He needs to make sure he keeps everyone in this city safe.

* * *

Thankfully, things finally ended, an hour and a half after it started. They were able to keep any major buildings from collapsing- the only one that really went down was the daycare, and no one was in it when it came crashing down. Chen grabbed the only kid stuck inside.

It's over now, but they're tired. Chen dropped the kid with her mom, but not before the little tyke gave them both a tearful hug and willingly went with her mom.

The dragon mech finally comes to a land on one of the warehouse roofs near Skylor and Chen's apartment, and Chen tiredly clambers off. He hits the roof with a thump, and Lloyd slides down after him. The sun is just starting to set.

"So. I'm sorry the... the date, went as bad as it did." Lloyd coughs, rubbing his foot against the roof. Chen smiles softly, the blood on his cheek starting to finally come to a halt.

"Eh, it was better than a boring dinner date where we both despise each other. Again, Lloyd," He pokes Lloyd's dusty nose, "I admire you even more for seeing what you do. I don't know how you do that every day, but honestly? I'd like to keep seeing you do it and know that you'll tell me about it."

Lloyd scrunches his nose, batting away Chen's finger.

"We'll see. But..." he rocks on his heels, finally peeking through his windswept hair, "I think that sounds good. At least another date before I make a decision."

"Fair enough. Thanks for not letting me fall to my death today, it means a lot." Chen walks closer, and Lloyd blinks down at him once or twice.

"Thanks for just letting me stick around for the cheesecake I didn't get." He inches closer, and Chen starts to blush.

"Thanks for talking to me." He whispers, as his gaze drops to Lloyd's lips.

"Thanks for agreeing to put up with me. Because I'm an asshole, and you'll find that out soon enough." Lloyd backs up quickly, leaving Chen flushed and confused.

"This'll have to do." He blows him a kiss, and jumps back on the mech. Chen pretends to run and jump to catch it, and Lloyd only rolls his eyes.

"You're so dramatic."

"You like it though!" Chen yells, cupping his hands over his mouth as the dragon starts to lift off.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you later."


End file.
